Sunday Sermons
Lessons from a Hurricane
Lessons from a Hurricane
The false god
“What we saw in New Orleans last week was the pathetic picture of people whose expectations in a false god had been so enhanced that when the false god stumbled for a day or two, some of his worshippers flew into a rage. They’d been betrayed, they said. Not only had their god failed to tend to their obvious physical needs in prompt style; he had made them look weak and foolish in the process. And then remember this: That such a people will in the days to come develop a bigger and bigger appetite for gods who promise them everything. And then they will show a lower and lower tolerance for gods who do not perform” (World Magazine, “Unquenchable appetite, Joel Belz, September 17, 2005, p. 4). Many people have come to place all their trust and hope in a human government. It is interesting to note that the Bible does not teach that civil government is supposed to provide for our every need, in addition, no human government is omnipotent or all-knowing, only God is. “News reports have suggested repeatedly that even in the Third World, things would have gone faster than they did in the Gulf States. Don’t believe it. In the Third World, hunger is perpetual. What you saw for a week or two was painful, but exceptional. What you see in so many other places is chronic” (p. 4). This is true. Yes, we saw people struggling to survive and find food and clean water to drink, but in many other countries this is the “norm”.
Lack of Restraint
“Note this well: A people who cannot, even while in dire distress, minister to the weakest and the dying among them; a people who do not, even while waiting hungrily for help they desperately need, respectfully and reverently take care of the bodies of those who do die; such a people will be known to history as frighteningly farther down the road to decadence than most of us want to admit” (p. 4). I have been disappointed with the excuses that some community leaders and others have offered in defense of how people misbehaved during this time, as if exceptional strain relaxes moral standards, yet God disagrees. God expects men and women to live by high standards even when life is very difficult, “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable” (1 Peter 2:18; Matthew 5:10-12). God also takes a dim view of complaining even when a person is hungry or thirsty, (Exodus 17; Numbers 11; 1 Corinthians 10:10 “Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer”). In fact, the context of 1 Corinthians 10 reveals that it is dangerous to complain even when one thinks that they are on safe ground (i.e., I deserve better). Paul adds, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall”, and hardship can be a temptation, but there is always a way of escape that does not involve complaining. God’s people have often experienced far more suffering and hardship even than those in the recent hurricane (Hebrews 11:34-38 “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy).”
Civil government and human happiness
Belz makes a good point when he notes, “Then let’s assume as well that all these plans had been carried out perfectly. What on earth prompts us to suppose Americans would have been happier with the results?” (p. 4). “Raising false expectations is also a cruel game. And that includes constantly dividing the people and feeding the illusion that if we’d just had some other president, or some other governor, or some other mayor, we could all be content. If government can’t make us all happy even when there isn’t an emergency, why should we make it our god when the next Katrina comes blowing though?” (p. 4). I am impressed that God’s people in Bible times endured many natural disasters, and yet there is nothing written in the New Testament that placed any blame upon the government, rather Christians helped other Christians (Acts 11:28-30), and continued to rejoice in the Lord(Philippians 4:4).
Worse Sinners?
When some natural disaster strikes it is tempting to think that the people affected were somehow more evil than the rest of men and this is the reason why this event happened to them, yet Jesus already addressed this: “Now on this occasion there were some people who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, not, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5). These calamities could have happened to anyone. Any person who refuses to repent, no matter how few times they have sinned, will still perish. The words "in like manner perish” were fulfilled when thousands of Jews in Jerusalem perished when the city fell in A.D. 70. The parable given in the next verses is given to show us how God patiently gives us time (but not all the time in the world) to come to repentance. We have time to repent but no man should let such time pass with indifference.
Does God need to answer for something?
“On his 89th birthday NPR Senior News analyst Daniel Schorr observed that President George Bush had ‘staked out a non-position’ on the debate between evolution and intelligent design by saying that ‘both sides ought to be properly taught in the schools of America’. Then with manifest scorn, Mr. Schorr linked the devastation of Hurricane Katrina with the concept of intelligent design: ‘(Bush) might well have reflected that, if this was the result of intelligent design, then the designer has something to answer for” (p. 43). First, saying that both evolution and intelligent design need to be taught in school is not a “non-position” rather it seems to be the very definition of a good education, that is, honestly examining both sides of an issue (Acts 17:11). Secondly, when hurricanes or any other natural disaster occur, God does not have to answer to anyone; in fact, we are the ones who must answer (Job 38:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Let us remember that we have sinned (Romans 3:23), so whatever happens to us in this life, we actually deserved far worse (Psalm 103:10; Lamentations 3:39), and whatever mercy was seen in New Orleans, neither we nor they deserve. “God sent Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. He did not suffer massive shame and pain because Americans are pretty good people. Our guilt in the face of Katrina is not that we can’t see the intelligence in God’s design (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-2), but that we can’t see arrogance in our own heart. God will always be guilty of high crimes for those who think they’ve never committed any” (p. 43).
Too much individualism?
Some have argued that the problems associated with the hurricane were caused by too much American individualism, that is, with folks acting selfishly. Selfishness can be a problem and it can manifest itself in many ways, yet it seems that many people were able to get out of the way of this storm precisely because they acted as individuals. Added to this, the tremendous out-pouring of individual initiative and effort in the relief and clean up effort that is often forgotten long after the media has moved on to the next breaking story. There were many Internet postings that read like this one, “We are a family of five. We have a very small room with a bed and two small dressers that we will offer to you so that you can get back on your feet. You will be welcome at our family table and we’ll help you in any way you need, getting a job, reaching family, getting clothes, and whatever else. We don’t have much money after the bills are paid, but we’ll happily share whatever we can. We don’t expect you to pay us, and we won’t expect you to leave quickly. It takes time to rebuild and we’ll give that time” (p. 44).
“We’ve lost everything”
It would be certainly tragic to lose everything that one owned, especially those things that could not be replaced, such as family heirlooms, wedding pictures and other such cherished items. Yet even when a person loses all such things, they still have not lost everything. In fact, I can lose every single earthly item that I own and still possess “everything” of eternal value. Often Christians in the first century lost everything due to persecution, but the writer of the book of Hebrews noted, “For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one” (Hebrews 10:34). It appears that Moses had to flee Egypt with only the clothes on his back(Hebrews 11:24-25), and in becoming a Christian Paul said, “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7).
The efficiency of the New Testament Church
I received an email recently that complained about how this or that church thinks that they are the true church. The email argued that everyone picks and chooses what they want to follow in the New Testament and ignores that they do not like. The writer claimed that no one today is following the example of Act 4:32-35. Of course such an argument to be valid would demand omniscience of the writer, how do they know that not a single person on the planet is living in such a manner? Yet the generosity we see in Acts 4:32-35 was and is still being seen in the aftermath of this disaster. One email after another that I have received tells of Christians on their own, heading out with supplies and donating their time and money to relieve the needs of their brethren. All of this was accomplished without any sort of mother church, human headquarters, or official hurricane relief organization.
Really helping the poor
Many of the people displaced by this hurricane were those in the lower economic level of our society, yet I hope our nation learns what the poor really need.
· First they need to associate with people who are successful. They do not need an excuse; rather they need interaction with caring and hardworking individuals.
· As they are being helped to get back on their feet they also need to be held accountable and be in an environment where there is encouragement, correction if needed, and a disciplined lifestyle.
· We need to get away from the false idea that “society owes people a living”. God has never said that the government owes us a certain standard of living, rather God rewards diligence and hard work (Proverbs 6); and makes it clear that the obligation to support ourselves rests upon us (1 Timothy 5:8). Equally clear however is the truth that we will not have to work 24/7 in order to support our families, and that we will have plenty of time for God (Matthew 6:33), if we are seeking the kingdom first.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
